8 books that made the cut IN 2017

When the moon comes out and the darkness brings quiet, I prefer to relax on a creamy leather couch, wrapped in my favorite blanket. Holding a warm tea, and of course, a good book. The sound of each page turning. The look and feel of the ink. Here are the 8 books that made the cut in 2017. 

1. Monster Nation by David Wellington
This is the second book in Wellington’s trilogy of zombie books. Monster Island is #1 and Monster Planet is #3.  Wellington has an interesting take on how he portrays his zombies, how they think and act. However, I did enjoy Monster Island a lot more than Monster Nation.

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2. The Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard
I had high hopes for this book. The premise is a scientist sells his soul to the devil to learn necromancy. When the scientist wants his soul back, the devil makes a deal. Sounds good in theory but there was something about it I couldn’t get into. I didn’t feel too connected with the main character so it fell flat for me. Great idea though.

3. The Caretaker’s Eye: A Darkest Night Story by Johnny Fero
If you haven’t listened to the Darkest Night podcast, and you’re a horror fan, go listen right now. It’s one of my favorites, so when they announced they had illustrated an adult’s children book I bought it immediately. It’s an adult story formatted in a children’s book. It’s super quick read but the illustrations are beautiful.

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5. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This was probably my favorite this year. I read it in about a week because it was beautifully written and the message hit me right in my soul. That’s all I have to say about it.

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6. The Blumhouse Book of Nightmares: The Haunted City by Jason Blum
This is a collection of short horror stories by some of the best writers in the business. I loved most, some took longer to get through, but overall a great collection.

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7. A Face at the Window by Dennis McFarland
A haunting ghost story set in a hotel in London. I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would. My favorite books leave me satisfied with the ending but with something to still think about, and this one did just that.

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8. The Long Walk by Richard Bachman
A Long Walk is a contest where the winner is the only survivor. And if you didn’t already know, Richard Bachman is a pseudonym pen name used by Stephen King between 1977 and 1982. The Long Walk is Stephen King quality and weirdness but not his usual style. It was almost more real than his other books, making it even scarier. Talk about endings that leave you thinking, this one haunted me for weeks.

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